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T O P I C R E V I E W

413 is in

Okay, being a child of the 60's, I have always been an uber-fan of Led Zeppelin from the beginning with the release of their debut album in January of 1969. As such, until recently I thought I knew even the most esoteric nuggets of trivia involving the band.

After all these years I was quite surprised to learn (via Wikipedia and other sources) that Neil Armstrong's likeness appears on the cover of Zeppelin's sophomore effort, "Led Zeppelin II." I guess I wasn't paying attention in class that day.

The timeframe for Armstrong's appearance makes sense seeing that the album was released in October 1969 shortly after Apollo 11.

I did know that the second album was designed around a 1917 photo of Manfred von Richthofen and his notorious Flying Circus. Also that some of the original faces in the photograph were altered and some replaced with a handful of other celebrities including the band members themselves. I've long since abandoned my record player but nonetheless maintain my original copies of the Zeppelin catalog.

I dusted off my copy of the album and made a hi-res scan to verify that Armstrong was indeed pictured with the band in the iconic cover art. There he is standing in the top row (second from right), next to drummer John Bonham and behind Robert Plant.

This begs the question, did NASA give permission to the record label for the use of Armstrong's likeness for strictly commercial purposes? It doesn't seem likely to me. Also, wouldn't it be cool to own an Armstrong signed copy of the album.

Maybe contacting him would result in his sharing more details about how Armstrong came to be part of the design?

KSCartist

Looks more like Frank Borman to me.

mach3valkyrie

It looks like Frank Borman from his early NASA business suit photo, the one with the Gemini-Titan model on the desk and him leaning on his right elbow.

mode1charlie

I third the motion. Borman.

Robert Pearlman

Well, the artist thought he was using a photo of Armstrong:

In amongst the four band members (airbrushed in from a publicity photograph) are Miles Davis (or was it Blind Willie Johnson?), a girlfriend/muse of Andy Warhol (perhaps Mary Woronov) and the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

413 is in

Hmm... I have to agree, it does look more like Borman.

Jurg Bolli

No question about it, Borman came to mind instantly!

chet

Definitely Borman.

One small mistake for an album cover designer, one giant leap for Borman in pop-art lore!

(Wonder if he'd agree to sign the album cover at his upcoming appearance in Tucson!?)

Glint

quote:Originally posted by Jurg Bolli:No question about it, Borman came to mind instantly!

By the way. All these years I've always thought that that "muse" on the cover was Lucille Ball. Could the artist have made a second mistake as well?

"Miles Davis (or was it Blind Willie Johnson?)" After all, it doesn't seem as though he is/was really sure who is who.

413 is in

Can you imagine how surprised Borman would be if handed this album to sign? I would love to have my copy signed.

You guys are most likely the first people to uncover this mistake on a classic album cover dating back to the age of Apollo. Mad props to you. Now that's a piece of Zeppelin trivia!

LM1

When I go to thrift shops and garage sales, there are often many boxes of old record albums. Usually I look for the music from the "2001" movie or "Star Wars". Now, I have another album to add to my search.

David Bryant

I'm amazed! My friends and I recognised Frank Borman on that album sleeve on the day it came out!

stsmithva

I'll be mailing my items to Astronaut Central for the Borman signing in a couple of days, and I've printed out these pictures to include for his amusement.

Thanks Joel. Even though I don't collect astronaut portraits, when I first scanned the cover I immediately recognized the face as very familiar. I did spend some time looking for the actual photo that was used in the artwork, but alas, I was looking for the wrong astronaut. When I posted the images and saw that everyone was seeing Borman, I knew exactly why the face was so familiar to me.

Thinking about it now, I can see a possible reason why Borman's image may have been used. The Zeppelin album was released in October of 1969 between the Apollo 11 and 12 missions. However, the concept and sleeve design would have been put together well in advance of the album release in October, possibly even before Apollo 11 made it into the history books. Indeed the recording sessions for the album itself began in early 1969.

As commander of the first mission to the moon in late December 1968, Borman was arguably the most visible astronaut in the public's eye at the time the album artwork was created. Also, with the album's release just three months after Apollo 11, this might help explain how Armstrong's name has erroneously been attached to the artwork. Just a theory. I do know that for a Led Zeppelin and Apollo fan the whole thing does make for an interesting story after all these years!

413 is in

Now here's a bit of Led Zeppelin trivia that I was previously aware of that has now become even more interesting in light of the recent discovery of the Armstrong/Borman misidentification. With the release of Zeppelin's sixth record, Physical Graffiti (1975), artist Peter Corriston with designer Mike Doud made an attempt at incorporating Armstrong's image into the sleeve design for the album.

As can be seen, the well-known and iconic image of Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface appears in the upper right window of the building on the album's cover. References to the album's design again incorrectly identify the image as that of Neil Armstrong. Perhaps this time it could be argued that this is not a mistake, as we all know that Armstrong is clearly visible in Aldrin's visor.

413 is in

quote:Originally posted by Glint: All these years I've always thought that that "muse" on the cover was Lucille Ball.

That's funny, I always thought that it was Robert Plant's doppelgänger.

Aztecdoug

I saw this building front in the East Village of the Lower East Side of Manhattan courtesy of a useful Fodor’s guide. I didn’t see Buzz in the window though.

fredtrav

He was probably on a book signing tour at the time.

Spacefest

I can confirm that is a younger Frank Borman on the Led Zeppelin II album cover. Personally, I like the first album. Bluesier. Time for me to ramble on.

413 is in

Just arrived today!

A sincere thanks to the fine folks at Astronaut Central for a job well done and to the collectSPACE community for identifying Borman as the honorary Led Zeppelin band member. My record jacket is from the first American pressing of the album, released in 1969. I hate to say it but I purchased this album in the same year. Although I'm feeling a bit old, I'm also proud, thrilled, and happy with the results of this signing.

Grounded!

Ditto to everything 413 just posted. My almost one-of-a-kind album cover also arrived today. A special thanks to Rob who called when this knucklehead from Vermont forgot to enclose his order form!

I wonder if David Juniper is aware of all this attention his artwork has been getting on collectSPACE?

dss65

Very cool, guys. I guess I'll show my own age here and reveal that Led Zeppelin II was one of two albums that seemed to be owned by at least one person in every single room on my dorm floor when I was a freshman at college. (The other was the sound track to Easy Rider. It seemed like you could walk down the hall and hear the music from one or the other blaring from just about every room. What a time to be alive!) What a score to have your signed album covers!